The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Petunia plant, botanically known as Petuniaxc3x97hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name White Spice.
The new Petunia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in East Bend, N.C. The new Petunia originated from a self-pollination made by the Inventor of the Petuniaxc3x97hybrida cultivar Purple Wave, not patented. The new Petunia was selected from a single plant of the resulting progeny by the Inventor in June, 1998, on the basis of its white-colored flowers.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in East Bend and Winston-Salem, N.C. has shown that the unique features of this new Petunia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar White Spice have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, daylength, and fertility level without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98White Spicexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98White Spicexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Uniform cascading and outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Freely and continuous branching.
3. Numerous fragrant white-colored flowers.
4. Excellent garden performance and tolerance to high temperatures.
Compared to plants of the parent cultivar, Purple Wave, plants of the new Petunia have fragrant white-colored flowers whereas flowers of xe2x80x98Purple Wavexe2x80x99 are purple-colored and not fragrant.